There was a time when Notre Dame shortstop Jackson Kaplowitz did not find his name on lists of the top Illinois baseball players in the Class of 2018 and wasn't receiving attention from major-conference Division I programs.

That time, was a month ago.

But after a productive offseason, the 6-foot-3, 180-pound Kaplowitz has had a breakout first month of the high school season, both in the field and at the plate. In late March, the Wilmette resident debuted on Prep Baseball Report's Class of 2018 Rankings for Illinois.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame coach Nelson Gord said he's recently been on the phone discussing Kaplowitz with coaches from Vanderbilt and Louisville. The Commodores won the national title in 2014 and were runners-up the following season. The Cardinals have won an NCAA Regional each of the last four years and made the College World Series in 2013 and 2014. Kaplowitz said schools like Davidson, Valparaiso and Southern Illinois also have shown interest.

It's a big change for a player who spent last season shuttling between the sophomore team and varsity, spending much of his time with the varsity as a defensive replacement.

"Once the game gets going, I'm zoning (all the attention) out and focusing on the game," said Kaplowitz, who was hitting .391, with a homer and 11 RBIs through 14 games. "But it's definitely a lot. It's a new experience."

Gord, who began coaching Kaplowitz on the Illinois Indians club team the summer before he enrolled at Notre Dame, said he always believed Kaplowitz had potential to play at the next level.

"If you asked me a year ago, I would have thought maybe (Kaplowitz would play at) an Ivy League school or a mid-major Division I. But (he's received high Division I attention) since we've been outside, really this spring." Gord said.

Gord added: "The offseason between fall baseball and high school is only three or four months, and (this year) it was like a five-year difference for (Kaplowitz) in how much he's come along, especially as a hitter."

Gord said Kaplowitz always has been a slick fielder, but was somewhat overmatched at the plate on varsity as a sophomore. But Kaplowitz's hitting appears to have caught up with his fielding after an offseason of hard work.

During the winter, Kaplowitz chose not to play for Notre Dame's basketball team in order to focus on preparing for the spring. He said he spent hours in the weight room at Notre Dame and several nights a week working on his hitting and fielding at Players U, a training facility in Mount Prospect.

"The weight room, that was big for me. I was pretty scrawny for the first two years of high school," said Kaplowitz, who has been hitting in the first or second spot in the Dons' batting order. "(In the offseason) I spent more time in the (batting) cage. Timing was a big thing for me. I was just tweaking things here and there to really solidify my swing."

Gord said Kaplowitz began turning heads during the team's three-game, season-opening trip to downstate O'Fallon, where he went 5-for-10 with 5 RBIs, and has continued to impress as the Dons have come north.

Power hitting can be the last component of a hitter's game to develop, according to Gord, but Kaplowitz showed he has some pop when he blasted a leadoff home run, his first on varsity, in a 6-4 loss at Evanston on April 11.

Notre Dame (6-7-1) is fairly young this season and was swept by Marian Catholic in a doubleheader Saturday in Niles.

Notre Dame junior first baseman Kevin Garcia said he worked out with Kaplowitz during the offseason and has been impressed by his teammate's swift progress.

"Last year, he was good, though not with the bat. He needed to figure things out, and that's exactly what he did in the offseason," said Garcia, who lives in Chicago. "He's the best hitter on the team right now."

Kaplowitz has worked with Gord in club and high school ball for several years, and said Gord has been instrumental in his rise.

"(He taught me to) 'Trust in yourself. Even though guys are throwing hard, trust in yourself.' That's what he's been preaching my whole high school career," Kaplowitz said.

Born in Nashville, Tenn., Kaplowitz moved to the Chicagoland area as a toddler, when his father Craig took a job as a history professor at Judson College, now Judson University, in Elgin. Craig Kaplowitz earned his master's and doctorate from Vanderbilt. He also taught there.

Jackson Kaplowitz said he would love to return to his southern roots for college.

"I have a ton of friends and family down south. All our vacations were to the south," Jackson Kaplowitz said. "I want to go back down south (for college) — better weather, better players and better competition."

In the last month, Kaplowitz has gotten closer to making that dream a reality.